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Western Wind Workshop
in Ensemble Singing
June 21-26, 2026
Miss Porter's School, Farmington, CT
Medieval and Renaissance, Early American, Romantic, Folk, Jazz and Contemporary
"This was a life-changing week for me. Thank you very much!"
- 2025 workshop participant
The Western Wind Workshop
This summer represents the 45th anniversary of Western Wind workshops, which began at Dartmouth College in 1981. What makes a Western Wind workshop unique is the focus on small ensembles and a cappella singing. In small groups, everyone plays a role and makes an essential contribution. Here is a chance to sing a variety of music with other singers of your level. Each group is personally guided by a Western Wind member. During this 5-day session, guest faculty members prepare participants to perform repertoire beyond that learned in one's core group. You may sing a small ensemble piece of Early Music with continuo accompaniment under the guidance of specialists Bob Eisenstein and keyboardist Christine Gevert and/or you may sing a vocal jazz or pop arrangement with the help of arranger and composer Yumiko Matsuoka. Another highlight of the 5-day workshop is a Silly Seminar featuring skits, an off-beat T-shirt contest, and an Elmer Fudd style rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus.
About Miss Porter's School
We are fortunate this summer of 2026 to once again be holding our June workshop at Miss Porter's, a well-known girls' preparatory school in Farmington, Connecticut, just a few miles southwest of Hartford. The dormitories at Miss Porter's are mostly historic homes that have been adapted to modern group living. All rooms are air-conditioned. Our rehearsals and concerts will be held in nearby, accessible, air-conditioned classroom buildings and performance spaces.
Register
Click the button at the bottom of the page to enroll in the workshop and make your deposit (refundable through June 10). You will receive an e-mail confirmation with further information and online registration materials. The deposit is $400 for both on-campus 5-day participants and 5-day commuters, and $0 for scholarship applicants. The remaining balance is due no later than June 19. You will receive an invoice for this balance about a month before the workshop. There are no formal auditions to enroll, but if you are new to Western Wind Workshops, you can expect to meet with our Workshop Director, Linda Lee Jones, via Zoom to determine an appropriate small group placement for you.
Scholarships
Please inquire at info@westernwind.org about opportunities. Generous members of the Western Wind workshop community have funded need-based partial and full scholarships.
First-time Participants
Donors to our scholarship fund are also making it possible for first-time participants in a Western Wind summer workshop to attend the June workshop at a reduced cost (20% less). If this is not enough of a reduction in light of your circumstances, please register as a scholarship applicant instead. Please indicate on the registration form that you are a first-time attendee.
Workshop Fees Through June 16
On-campus fees for workshop participants include tuition, room & board. Both single and double rooms are available. Fees for commuters do not include meals, which are available for $45 per day or a la carte.
5-day 6/21-6/26
Single: $1,900
Double: $1,800
Guest: $450
Commuter: $1,350
Extra Night (does not include dinner or breakfast)
Single: $65
Double: $45
Guest: $45
(Please see explanation above if you are a first-time participant. The 20% reduction applies to the total fees listed above. )
Friends of the Western Wind receive a 5% discount on their tuition fees. See our website for details about Friends of the Western Wind.
After June 16, tuition increases by $100. (Deadline extended!)
Deposit Amount (due upon enrollment): $400 (on-campus & commuter); $0 (scholarship applicant)
Bring your Group
Pre-existing groups are welcome at Western Wind Workshops. If enough members of a group enroll, they can apply for a tuition discount and work together as a group. Please contact info@westernwind.org for details as early as possible.
Deposit methods include credit and bank cards, PayPal, and "manual" methods, including Zelle, Venmo, and mailed checks. Manual methods save us transaction fees. Details are clarified within the payment module.
A previous June Western Wind workshop participant, Luis Alvira, shares his life-changing experience.
Our Faculty
Linda Lee Jones, soprano
Eric Brenner, countertenor
Paul Greene-Dennis, bass
William Zukof, Co-founder,
Executive Director
The Western Wind
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Guest Faculty:
Robert Eisenstein, viola da gamba. Founding member of The Folger Consort, early music ensemble in residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. Long-time director of the Five College Early Music Program in Western Massachusetts and Lecturer in Music History at the University of Massachusetts. Performances with the Newberry Consort, Tanglewood Festival, Cappella Nova, the New York Consort of Viols, the Washington Bach Consort, Hesperus, and the National Symphony. BA Antioch College; MM, Sarah Lawrence College.
Yumiko Matsuoka, contemporary a cappella and jazz specialist. Originally from Tokyo, Japan; professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, teaching ear training. Founder of Vox One, a Boston-based a cappella quintet, whose albums Vox One (1993), Out There (1995) and Chameleon (1997) have won multiple awards from the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA). In 2008 she released an anthology album of her arrangements and compositions entitled To Every Thing There Is a Season, published by the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press.
Brian Mummert sings, conducts, arranges, and composes music spanning eras and genres, all in the service of harnessing musical narrative as a mode for deepening mutual understanding. He is the founding artistic director of The New Consort, an American Prize-winning vocal ensemble dedicated to exploring the roles musical ritual and community play in our lives; and a co-founder of ChamberQUEER, a chamber music collective highlighting the voices of LGBTQ+ composers and performers, and The Red Ribbon Revue, a World AIDS Day concert featuring HIV+ performers celebrating the legacy of artists lost to AIDS. This is his third summer coaching at Western Wind workshops.
Anja Shütz, photographer
Musical omnivore Tracy Cowart (mezzo-soprano) enjoys a wide range of interests, from twelfth-century monophony to American old-time music. She has performed with chamber ensembles including Apollo’s Fire, the Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine, the Chivalrous Crickets, Makaris, Rose of the Compass, Trobar, and Voices of Ascension. As a founder and Co-Director of Alkemie, she has appeared on series including Arizona Early Music, Capitol Early Music, the Five Boroughs Music Festival, the Met Cloisters, the Morgan Library, Music Before 1800, National Sawdust, San Francisco Early Music, and the Berkeley Early Music Festival. She co-produced and performed on the soundtrack for the Peabody award-winning game Pentiment by Obsidian Entertainment, and recently released A Fine Companion, a dream-pop/shoegaze/psychedelic rock rendering of troubadour texts; Love to My Liking, a historically-informed realization of trouvére melodies and lyrics; and Blood, Booze & Betrayal, a folk-baroque collection of jovial macabre from the English-speaking Atlantic. Tracy received her DMA in Historical Performance from Case Western Reserve University, and is faculty at the Amherst Early Music Festival and Fordham University. Upcoming programming projects a collaboration with the InSeries on a new production of the Roman de Fauvel and a recording of neo-medieval arrangements of Hildegard von Bingen and Herrad von Hohenburg with Freelance Nun. Tracy is also an avid forager, amateur herbalist, and a card-carrying member of the NY Mycological Society.
Of Chilean and German nationalities, Christine Gevert holds a master’s degree in organ and early music performance from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hamburg, Germany, as well as a degree in music theory from the Conservatorio Nacional de Chile. She studied choral and orchestral conducting in Berlin, Germany and harpsichord in London. She has taught at the Berlin Church Music School, the Universidad de Chile, and at the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile. She has played solo recitals as organist and harpsichordist all over Germany and performed with and conducted ensembles and orchestras like the Berliner Bachsolisten, the Berliner Bachorchester, Leipziger Bachchor, La Giola, L’Arpa Festante, Musica Poetica, Chursaechsische Capelle, Estudio MusicAntigua, and Ars Antiqua Lipsiensis. In Chile, she performed with Collegium Josquin, Capella Antiqua, Pentagrama, Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile, and Orquesta de Cámara Universidad Católica. Founder and artistic director of Crescendo, Christine, has directed Crescendo Chorus and Period Instrument Orchestra in several Baroque east coast and U.S. premieres. In 2014 Crescendo was awarded the Chorus America/ASCAP/Alice Parker award. She works with and leads a variety of ensembles in New England and is currently Music Director at Trinity Church in Lime Rock, CT.
Session Details
A SAMPLE WESTERN WIND WORKSHOP DAY
9:00–9:45 Vocal warm-ups and rehearsal of large group piece
10:00–12:00 Small group rehearsals
12:00–1:30 Lunch and relaxation
1:30–2:00 Optional musicianship skills classes or duo/trio coaching with guest faculty
1:45–4:00 Small group rehearsals
4:15–5:00 Optional country dancing with live band
5:00–6:00 Optional jazz classes
6:00–7:00 Dinner
7:15–9:15 Performance seminar by all small ensembles
9:30-10:30 Socializing in the dorm living room
Arrival, Registration, and Departure
Our check-in location is the Ward/Swift House dormitory at 56 Main Street, Farmington, CT.. This building will either be your dormitory or adjacent to it. Check-in for participants in this 5-day workshop is from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 21. If you know ahead of time that you will be arriving late, please notify our Workshop Administrator, Anna Feldman at (413) 575-7826 a few days before the workshop so we can plan appropriately. If you are delayed in transit on Friday, 6/26, please do the same. If you don’t get Anna, leave a message. She will be checking frequently.
Placement sessions for first-time attendees should have occurred online before the workshop begins, but if Workshop Director Linda Lee Jones still needs to meet with you that will occur either during the check-in period or after our first group meeting. After check-in (at which food will be available), we open the workshop at 7:00 p.m. with a mini-concert sung by The Western Wind. Afterwards, there will be introductions and a short rehearsal of a large group piece, followed by a reception (with more food and drink).
The weekend workshop concludes on Friday, June 26 with a final participant concert ending no later than 5:30 p.m. Please note that you can arrange to stay an extra night, that is Friday night, June 26, if you don't want to travel home that evening.
Transportation to Miss Porter’s School
Below is a map of Miss Porter’s School that will orient you to the instructions that follow.
By car:
From I-84 take Exit 39 Farmington. At the end of the exit ramp, continue straight onto Route 4 West. Turn left onto Route 10 South (Main Street). Park very briefly in front of 56 Main St. (Ward/Swift House) to drop off your belongings and check in. Then park at 69 Garden St. (Continue on Main to Mill Ln. Turn right. Turn right again onto Garden. Lot is behind the theater and tennis courts.) There are also handicapped spaces closer to Ford Library where we rehearse and perform.
By bus:
Various bus lines, including Greyhound, Flixbus, and Peter Pan, travel to Hartford’s Union Station from Boston, New York City, and other locations. You may choose to take an Uber from Hartford’s Union Station to Miss Porter’s (it's about a 15-20 minute ride depending on traffic). An alternative is to indicate on your registration form that you would like to share a ride to campus and we’ll do our best to match you with other workshop participants arriving at the same time.
Finally, there is also a regional transit bus, Route 66, with a stop at Union Station that goes to the edge of Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, CT. The drop off point is the Farmington Inn, a 5-minute walk to our check-in point on campus (Ward/Swift House at 56 Main St). The fare is only $1.75.
Unfortunately, this route doesn’t run all the way to Farmington on Sundays, our workshop’s starting day. You can take Route 66 as far as Westgate Plaza in West Hartford and someone can come pick you up.
https://www.cttransit.com/sites/default/files/schedules/66_Sunday_Farmington.pdf
You can, however, catch a late afternoon bus back to Hartford’s Union Station from Farmington Inn on our final day, Friday, June 26. Here is the link to the Rte. 66 weekday bus schedule:
https://www.cttransit.com/sites/default/files/schedules/66_Weekday_Farmington.pdf
By train:
Travel from your location to the Hartford, CT Union Station via Amtrak. Alternatively, take Metro North to New Haven, then switch to Amtrak. See suggestions above for getting to Miss Porter’s School and our check-in site, Ward/Swift House, 56 Main St. Farmington, CT, from Hartford’s Union Station. You will be directed to your room from there. Please indicate your desire to share a ride from the train station on your registration questionnaire.
By air:
Bradley International Airport (BDL) north of Hartford, CT is 25 miles northeast (approx. 30 minutes by car) from Miss Porter’s School. Please indicate your expected arrival time on your registration form and we shall do our best to match you with others needing transportation from BDL to the campus. It is possible to take a bus from Bradley to Hartford’s Union Station (Rte. 30), and then another bus (Rte. 66) to the edge of The Miss Porter’s School campus. This is inexpensive but takes at least 2 hours. Once you have arrived at our check-in site, Ward/Swift House, 56 Main St. Farmington, CT, you will be directed to your room.
Car Service and Shuttle Providers from BDL to Miss Porter’s School:
There are several shuttle, ride share, and taxi services at BDL providing transportation to the campus. The airport’s website lists several. Again, let us know when you are arriving at BDL so we can match you with others in need of transportation to Miss Porter’s School.
Housing
Housing at Miss Porter’s School is at Ward/Swift House (unless enrollment warrants use of an additional dorm). All rooms are air conditioned with access to at least one bathroom. Most rooms have one bed; some have two. Please indicate on your registration form that you would prefer to stay in Ward/Swift if climbing stairs is an issue. You are welcome to share a double room with another workshop participant. Non-participant partners, spouses, or significant others are also welcome to share rooms. Please see the online registration form for pricing. On-campus housing rates include all meals. See more in the list of fees above.
You will need to bring your own bedding, including sheets, pillows, blankets and a towel. (Today’s students tend to bring their own preferred bedding to campus.) The beds are extra long singles, so we recommend two flat sheets and a pillowcase along with your favorite pillow. Please let us know if you are traveling from afar and can’t reasonably bring bedding. We will help. Everyone will need to bring their own toiletries, including hand soap.
Dining
Meals in the Miss Porter’s Dining Hall begin with dinner on June 21 and continue through lunch on June 26. The cost of meals is included with on-campus housing. Commuters can also buy meals as well at a rate of $45 per day or buy them a la carte. Again, please see the registration form for details. Meals are freshly prepared on campus and Miss Porter’s endeavors to bring locally grown food to the table. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free options are available at each meal. Because of the nut-free restrictions, outside food may not be brought into the dining hall.
Rehearsal / Performance Venue
All rehearsals and performances will take place in the beautiful multi-level Ford Library. The building is air-conditioned and has an elevator. All entrances are at ground level.
Clothing
We advise you to bring comfortable clothing for our rehearsals. A sweater or light jacket is a good idea since evenings in June could be cool (as could be our air conditioned rehearsal spaces). Concert dress is informal (and is up to you) for the final concerts. Be sure to pack a quirky t-shirt for the Silly Seminar t-shirt contest as well.
Music Policies
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The cost of the large group piece is included in your weekend’s tuition. However, you are required to purchase music used in your small ensembles.
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Octavos must be purchased at their retail value. Photocopies are 15¢ per side, if a published piece is not available or the piece is in the public domain.
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If your group uses one piece out of a larger collection, you may request (before using or marking the larger book, please!) that the selection be photocopied for you at the charge of 15¢ per page (each side). Please destroy all photocopies of copyrighted music at the weekend’s conclusion pursuant to copyright law.
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Music that you make marks in must be purchased.
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A library of outstanding ensemble music is also available for your perusal and purchase. Please feel free to browse.
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A 10% discount applies to music and concession purchases that total $100 or more! 15% if it’s $200 or more!
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More and more workshop participants prefer to read digitized music from their tablets. Nearly all our music can be made available in this format.
Group Fun
The Western Wind summer workshops also offer opportunities to perform in larger ensembles and sing informally in open reading sessions. As mentioned earlier, during the 5-day session, our guest faculty members coach and accompany singers in vocal chamber repertoire from the Renaissance and Early Baroque, as well as in the subtleties of jazz and pop performance. Coaches will help you to select suitable Early Music repertoire, if you haven't arrived with music in hand (vocal duo or trio, or duo for voice and instrument, with continuo). Almost everyone chooses to participate in the Pop & Jazz concert, even if they rarely perform this repertoire. Yumiko Matsuoka will facilitate your placement in a group. Thursday night's Silly Seminar balances the hard work. Participating in a skit, sharing a talent, or participating in the wacky T-shirt contest can be a welcome relief from the packed workshop schedule. Readings of participants' original compositions are also a regular element of Western Wind workshops. Please bring hard-copy or digital scores if you would like to have your original compositions or arrangements read during the 5-day session.
Pop & Jazz Concert
Continuo Concert
Silly Seminar
Deposit methods include credit and bank cards, PayPal, and "manual" methods, including Zelle, Venmo, and mailed checks. Manual methods save us transaction fees. Instructions are given on payment platform, but make note of them here if you plan to use a manual method:
Zelle: info@westernwind.org
Venmo: The Western Wind@acap8600
Checks:
The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble
250 West 100th St., Suite 1112
New York, NY 10025